A Retrospective Study to Determine the Impact of Psychedelic Therapy for Dimensional Measures of Wellness: A Quantitative Analysis

Veterans and civilians who used psychedelic medicines for non-recreational purposes in the previous three years reported improvements across pain, mental health, function, and overall quality of life, with the largest perceived gains in mental health and quality of life and the smallest in pain. Correlations among these domains were highly significant, particularly between function, quality of life, and mental health. No significant differences emerged between specific psychedelic drugs, suggesting the benefits may be class-wide. The study was retrospective, anonymous, and relatively small (65 participants), and lacked a baseline comparison.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Background The World Health Organization (WHO) defines wellness as the optimal state of health of individuals and groups. No study to date has identified the impact of psychedelic medicines on optimizing wellness using a dimensional approach. Using this approach, treatment effects can be measured more broadly using a composite score of participants’ global perceptions of change for pain, function, and mood scores. Given the precedence in previous work for retrospective studies of participants’ self-medicating with these substances, the nature of this study design allows for a safe way to develop further evidence in this area of care, with wellness as the broad indication. Methods 65 civilian or military veterans above the age of 18, self-identifying as having used psychedelic medicines for non-recreational purposes in the last 3 years were recruited. Participants completed the following standardized questionnaires: Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale, Pain, Enjoyment of Life and General Activity (PEG) scale, Anxiety and Depression scale (ADS), and Disability Index (DI) scale. The analysis focused on reported PGIC outcomes and correlations between subscales. Given the nature of the study, a comparison to the baseline could not be made. Results On average, participants reported improvement in all domains (pain, mental health, function, and overall quality of life), regardless of the medicine. Perceived improvement was highest in mental health and overall quality of life, and lowest in pain. Kendall correlation showed a highly significant association between the perceived changes in all domains. Correlation coefficients were highest between the perceived change in function, quality of life, and mental health. Discussion The use of various psychedelic medicines may be associated with a broad range of changes that could help clarify the mechanism of how they impact wellness in the future. Pain, mental health, function, and overall quality of life accordingly improved after the use of these medicines. Minor differences between the drugs were not found as significant, indicating that the perceived benefits seemed to be specific to the psychedelic class. Numerous limitations exist to this type of study which was relatively small in size, retrospective and anonymous in nature. Conclusion The wellness of individuals or groups is not simply an absence of disease, symptoms, or impairments. Instead, it is an outcome that is shaped by a myriad of personal characteristics, psychophysiology, and choices, expressed throughout one’s lifespan, unfolding in dynamic interaction with a complicated sociocultural and physical environment.